Space Science & Engineering

As a recognized leader in space science research and spacecraft instrumentation, avionics, and electronics, we are helping to reveal the secrets of our solar system and the universe. SwRI was the principal investigator institution for the highly successful IMAGE mission and now leads the New Horizons mission to Pluto, the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), and the Juno mission to Jupiter, as well as the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) science investigation. SwRI-developed instruments have flown, are flying, or are under development for flight on a number of NASA and European Space Agency missions, while SwRI-developed avionics systems have flown without a single on-orbit failure on more than 50 government and commercial missions.

Earth, Oceans & Space

Our staff members focus on engineering and science flight projects, in the areas of earth science, astrophysics and heliophysics. Located in Durham, N.H., we explore new scientific challenges in those areas and develop innovative flight instruments to study these problems. Using SwRI’s flight expertise, we deliver flight hardware for a variety of government and industry clients.

We conduct basic observational, modeling, and theoretical research in a range of solar system and astrophysical topics, and actively study, operate and build instruments for space missions. Located in Boulder, Colo., our team provides a steady stream of international visiting scientists who are involved in organizing workshops and meetings with focused scientific topics. Research is funded primarily by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Client Services

Our space research activities focus principally on understanding the behavior of electrically charged particles (plasmas) and electromagnetic fields at the Sun, in planetary magnetospheres and interplanetary space, and at the heliosphere’s interface with the local interstellar medium. Our program extends from the Sun to the very edge of the solar system, where the outflow of electrically charged particles from the Sun (the solar wind) encounters the local interstellar medium.

As a leading developer of processors, command and data handling systems, and related electronics for space flight, we support system and subsystem design, fabrication, and testing. Our processors have flown on dozens of space missions without an on-orbit failure. Also, we are involved in the development of lighter-than-air autonomous vehicles for military and scientific applications, as well as industrial process instrumentation.